SALES & MARKETING: Stop, Think & Prosper

I’ve been a landscape contractor for 23 years and I’ve enjoyed every single minute. I’ve also gleaned countless ideas from professional seminars, business books and mentors.

It was not until this past year, though, that I learned the most important lesson of all –  a successful businessperson needs to take time to think.

We live in an exceedingly busy world. We are connected 24 hours a day to cell phones, e-mail, voice mail and cable news. I try to take advantage of any and all advances in technology. I do my shopping online after the kids have gone to bed, I’ve always got my cell phone at the ready, and I take my laptop everywhere but church.

But the danger in this link to the world is we lose the connection to ourselves. In the rush to know what everyone else has to say, we lose sight of what we ourselves have to say and think. As I get older and wiser, I have discovered the value in taking the time to step back and think.

As a self-confessed workaholic,  I force myself to relax. It’s when you’re relaxed and quiet that new ideas tend to flow. When you’re working you get caught up in day-to-day demands and the future becomes an abstraction. But you must make the time to think. Otherwise, you’ll never move beyond the status quo. Here are some tactics that have worked for me.

I work out a couple of times a week and it’s when I’m doing so that I have my best ideas. There’s a nature preserve near my house where I go to run. Sometimes I listen to a motivational tape, podcast or CD. Other times I don’t. When it’s just me and the birds and the trees, my daily troubles tend to fall by the wayside.  I can think about the bigger picture, about where I want my business to be in the years ahead and the best way to get there. 

Working out also creates balance in one’s life. I recommend Jim Joehr and Tony Schwartz’s book The Power of Full Engagement to learn in detail about the relationship between exercise and success. And if it’s been a while since you’ve hit the trails or elevated your heart rate, don’t think exercise is not for you. Just going on a walk can be terrific exercise for your body and your brain.

Another tactic for making time to think is to choose a favorite quiet spot where you can go and be alone without distraction. Maybe it’s at home, or in your back yard hammock, or at the library, or even Starbucks. Get into the habit of going to your designated place and with a pad of paper and a pen. You’ll be surprised by how establishing such a routine can make creative thinking a routine, too.

Lastly, you want to plan a weekend away every now and then to recharge and rethink. It doesn’t have to be somewhere exotic and far away. Sometimes just traveling a couple hours from home can change your perspective, generate new ideas and reinvigorate your ambitions.

Regardless of how you go about making   time, do not feel guilty. For the longest time I felt any minute I spent in a chair thinking was a minute less I could spend improving my business. I was wrong. Not only has slowing down from time to time actually grown my company, but also it's improved my overall health and outlook.

To start thinking, I'll give you an assignment. In the next week, set aside one hour when you can go to your favorite quiet place. Once there, ask yourself two questions: What would you do if you knew that you could not fail? And how would the person you want to become do the things you want to do? The answers to these questions might make some things clear that were not already clear.